Top Apps for Truckers: Mobile Technology Drives Success

Increased regulation. Demanding customers. Driver shortages. These are just a few reasons why the trucking industry is embracing mobile technology and the affordable fleet management solutions that run on cell phones, smartphones, tablet computers and other handheld devices.

In a recent survey by uShip, more than 6,000 owner-operators reported how they use their cell phones and mobile apps on the road:

* 57% use their phones more for daily business this year than they did last year.

* 37% use their phones to book loads, and 35% use them to bid on loads.

* Nearly 20% use social networks such as Facebook and Twitter on their phones to keep up with family, friends and colleagues.

Clearly, mobile phones and tablet computers have already become a crucial part of life on the road for truckers. In fact, cell phones are so important to truckers that when asked what they'd be willing to give up to keep their phones, 20% said they would give up their CB radios, 16% said they'd give up their spouses and 8% said they'd give up their pets. Now, that's dedication to a mobile device.

The use of handheld devices is exploding in the trucking industry, as is a proliferation of industry-specific mobile apps that help improve safety and compliance, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Many apps also help improve drivers' quality of life by giving them anytime, anywhere access to information, professional tools and streaming video and audio. And with a driver shortage on the horizon, these apps-particularly those that connect drivers with their family and friends-can go a long way to making the profession more attractive.

FatSecret Calorie CounterEating right is a challenge behind the wheel: Time is tight, hours are long and access to restaurants is limited by parking constraints or highway exits. With this app, drivers can look up nutrition information for foods found at most restaurants, scan barcodes for instant nutrition information on packaged foods, and track total daily calories, fat and carbs.

FleetSafer MobileWhile reading or writing a text, a driver looks away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. During that time, at 55 miles per hour, his or her vehicle will travel the length of an entire football field. FleetSafer eliminates the temptation to text, email or browse the web while driving. With this app, drivers can block texts and emails while driving, and automatically respond to incoming emails and texts with an "I'm driving" message.

GasBuddyWhen burning hundreds or even thousands of gallons of diesel each week, even the smallest savings can add up. The free GasBuddy app relies on a community of users working together to give drivers up-to-date diesel prices for thousands of stations across the U.S. and Canada. With this app, drivers can find the cheapest fuel, locate nearby fueling stations and sort them by fuel prices, view gas stations, and see gas station features.

SkypeWith free calls to any user worldwide, Skype is an easy way for drivers to stay connected. They can even videoconference with dispatchers, fellow drivers and family, and make calls to landlines and cell phones for less than most pre-paid calling cards. With this app, drivers can obtain an online telephone number so they never have to miss another call, receive voicemail messages and get voicemail notifications by e-mail, and send files and text messages.

tpMobile for Xata TurnpikeXata Turnpike is an advanced electric onboard recorder solution that runs on drivers' cell phones, smartphones and tablet computers. The app provides functions such as electronic hours-of-service logs, speed management and CSA risk scorecards, as well as fuel savings and driver productivity data. This app helps fleet managers and drivers comply with today's complex regulatory issues, run their fleets more efficiently while reducing operating costs and keep their customers happy through better visibility on arrival times and other delivery tools.

uShip MobileEspecially popular with owner-operators, this app makes it easy to bid on loads that people and businesses need shipped. Drivers can find nearby loads, place bids, get automatic notices that let them know when a bid is accepted or declined, view booking details and use optional GPS tracking to alert shippers and consignees to ETAs.

Trucker ToolsWith this free trucker's app, originally a coupon app similar to Groupon, drivers can source coupons from more than 5,000 truck stops across America, find the lowest diesel prices in any given area, search for truck stops, and get turn-by-turn directions to each stop.

Comments

1.Susie Bins[ May 21, 2013 @ 03:03PM ]

You forgot Trucker App, its a pretty great free apps that gives you GPS and allows you to alert people along your route. It also lets you input multiple stops and weight station/travel centers then lets you change your route by simply dragging the route line.

Link to the playstore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.absbm.truckerapp

2.Kenny Wright[ September 19, 2013 @ 08:09AM ]

Don't forget the "Trucker Jobs App" ( http://www.fueldawg.com) available for iPhone and Android. Android users can download it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truckerjobs

Also "Fuel Dawg" designed to find the lowest diesel prices for truck drivers. http://www.fueldawg.com

3.Amer Avdic[ October 14, 2013 @ 06:52PM ]

Find Truck Service Trucker App is a free app for professional truck drivers with thousands of heavy duty service locations across the U.S. - Service providers are listed by category, Road Service, Repair Shops, Towing, OEM Dealers and more. Search by city and state or your current location.

You can download the free app on Google Play.

4.Ken Roper[ December 21, 2013 @ 03:31PM ]

There's another app called SmartTruckRoute, instant truck routes and navigation for Android and Apple, phones and tablets. Maps and routing updated daily.

5.David[ February 21, 2014 @ 06:45PM ]

There are a few great trucker apps for figuring out your 70 hours and for powernaps. TruckPowerNapLite and QuickLogbookRecapLite are the names of these free apps. They are for mobile phones and tablets.

6.John[ September 05, 2014 @ 07:41AM ]

The best for me TMP2 EN - Truck Manager Pro 2

7.Brent[ September 06, 2014 @ 07:41AM ]

Remember, Nothing is for free..

8.Mike[ October 06, 2014 @ 11:04PM ]

An Android called shiftpoint helps new truck driver in shifting gear

9.Timothy[ November 04, 2014 @ 02:32AM ]

Why does so many apps have Walmart on them. Does someone think we live in Walmart when we are not driving. I like Trucker Tool but like so many it has Walmart.

10.Lee[ December 03, 2014 @ 06:18PM ]

BigRoad is another good one, especially for getting your driver logs right.

11.basar[ February 05, 2015 @ 08:12AM ]

5625

12.Antonio Gutierrez[ February 07, 2015 @ 09:17AM ]

I would suggest you add 123Loadboard.com's free mobile apps to the list. The free iOS and Android apps allow users to search through millions of truck loads posted annually on 123Loadboard.com’s freight matching network, without the need to be tethered to a desktop computer.

123Loadboard's mobile apps can be found for free on Apple and Google play stores searching for "123loadboard".

I use iexit only for AppleAlso keeptruckin exelent logbook for os and android.

14.Theo Foster[ May 25, 2015 @ 12:22PM ]

i plan to be semi trucker driver with a year. i want to research on wifi service router that cradle point MBR1400 for on the road . will it work when I am in no service zone as mountain etc. need feedback thank you

15.cliff mitchell[ June 14, 2015 @ 12:33PM ]

Im creating an app called trucker411 its gonna be a company locator app, trucker goes on app picks trucker related catagory, for instance fleet repair and types in zipcode and all fleet repair companies within 25 milesnshow up and its 100% free

16.Zeen[ July 03, 2015 @ 09:08AM ]

Check out Zeen - Building Road Awareness

Zeen has community driven reports for police, traffic, checkpoints, hazards and much more! Over 150k data reports at launch, which include rest stops, truck stops, weigh stations, wifi spots, toll booths, and more!

Zeen also features turn by turn navigation with a "truck/bus" mode to assist those with route limitations.

Currently available on Google Play and Chrome Web store. Coming to Apple App Store, Amazon App Store, Samsung App Store and more soon!

I'd suggest Fulcrum for logistics or on-the-road location data - It allows you to collect information on locations, share reports, accept signatures, and map out locations to share them with the whole team instantly. It's a free trial, and the plans are pretty cheap, so it wouldn't hurt to check it out -http://fulcrumapp.com

18.Tim[ August 20, 2015 @ 02:03PM ]

Speaking of fulcrums, check out Freight Seesaw. It displays the support point where a palletized truckload would balance perfectly without tipping on a seesaw. Knowing this point helps to evenly balance the axle weights. Available on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore.

19.DMartin[ October 02, 2015 @ 03:08PM ]

This is more on the educational side of things but there is an app called Georeader that automatically reads to you outloud historical markers as you drive by them. The site is www.mygeoreader.com

20.Sam[ October 09, 2015 @ 12:20PM ]

RoadSwap classifieds for truckers lets truck drivers swap used stuff with each other at truck stops, rest stops, or any place truckers gather. RoadSwap is free and available at Google play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.classified.roadswap

21.David Driver[ November 24, 2015 @ 07:33PM ]

4 Road Service has a great app for finding the closest truck services fast. The App is a free app for professional truck drivers with thousands of heavy duty service locations across the U.S.A. And Canada Service providers are listed by category, Road Service, Repair Shops, Towing, and more. Search by city and state or your current location.You can find it on Google play by search for Truck repair, Road service or 4RoadService, and it is one of the first APPS.Here is a link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=www4roadservice.update&hl=en

22.Mike TruckDriver[ November 25, 2015 @ 08:09PM ]

RoadHunter is The BEST route planner for truck drivers, includes all the truck stops, gas stations, wall-marts, rest areas, weigh stations. Also there are detailed information for every truck stops including how many truck parking spaces and diesel prices. Its available on android now and hope it will be for iOS soon.https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kostya.volpis.roadhunter

23.Mike Driver[ May 06, 2016 @ 03:19AM ]

There is a great app for location tracking,

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pilaf45b.GPS.Android

You just install and get your GPS locationson a map, you can also define warning areas or speed alerts etc.

24.borisdavenport[ May 19, 2016 @ 03:18AM ]

Thank you, this is really a nice information for truck drivers like us, we now rely upon apps like above other than our dash radios.Trucker Tools is the most common app I use. I also use MyDAT Trucker,Smart Truck Route. All these are amazing apps which made our work easier. I read this recently http://www.truckloancenter.com/blog/category/apps-for-truckers/ . they have listed some really cool apps.

25.Sam[ May 30, 2016 @ 08:15AM ]

RoadSwap App is for swapping DVD movies with other truckers. Can be used to trade other stuff too. A nice free app with no ads that you should try out. The more users the merrier as we'll have a before selection to swap with. RoadSwap is available for Android and iOS. To find it, keyword "roadswap"

26.Barry[ June 10, 2016 @ 03:47PM ]

Trucker 411 is an iPhone and Android app that helps drivers locate trucker services. Plus it collects weather information from the NWS (National Weather Service) and translates states and counties into GPS co-ordinates. Thus the device knows the county you are in and looks up all weather alerts for that county.

27.MATT[ June 28, 2016 @ 11:37AM ]

Is there a app to track your own business's trucks routs.

28.mathias mussa[ August 01, 2016 @ 01:10AM ]

this program i like it

29.Dennis[ August 26, 2016 @ 01:50PM ]

I have only heard good things about Drivewyze. It's like Prepass but works from your phone. www.drivewyze.com. Works in a majority of the states.

30.marcello[ December 09, 2016 @ 05:01PM ]

Anyone knows a good app to manage my own truck? Gas, miles, maintenance, tires, other repairs or expenses - to make it easier on the quarterly tax time. Thanks

31.Winfield[ April 02, 2017 @ 10:09AM ]

Hi There are some awesome apps listed here. DOn't forget about www.trulos.com . It isn't really an app but the site is super mobile friendly. Really cool free load board and has some awesome tools like IFTA Mileage by state and a sweet freight forecasting heat map that shows where the hot zones are. Thanks for opening up the discussion there are some really great apps. We have an API that integrates the free load board to applications super fast and easy.

32.David Jameson[ August 01, 2017 @ 12:55PM ]

Has anyone used Lorry Board, just came out last week.

33.Sergey Koleda[ August 07, 2017 @ 10:27AM ]

Do not forget about doft.comThe main thing that they pay in 24 hours. And it is a standard option.

34.Jimmy[ August 28, 2017 @ 07:53AM ]

There is another app for breakdown services to find mobile mechanics on a live. It's called breakdownmap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Zm0Jaf5Nw